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Solitaire Blitz Review

PROS

For a free game, it's not too aggressive trying to get you to spend money.

CONS

You can literally blindly tap your way to victory.

The worm sound when your time is almost up is unfortunate.

VERDICT

While Solitaire Blitz is a great new spin on a gaming classic, there's nothing to stop the player spamming their way to victory, and thus the experience gets old fast.

Full Review

App Store Info

It's been a while since we've seen something from Popcap Games. Once having a reputation for casual yet fiercely addictive titles, many of which received praise from the mainstream gaming media, the company's output has been kind of sparse and quiet these last few years. Well it seems they're still with us having released Solitaire Blitz, a spin on the Windows gaming classic that emphasises social play and leaderboards. Yes, solitaire as a social game. The irony wasn't lost on us either.

Now instead of playing strictly like a game of Solitaire, this plays more like Solitaire mixed with Uno. You have stacks of cards you need to get to the bottom of, and a card pile up top. Whatever card is on that pile, you can tap either the card above or below it if that card exists on the playing field. For example, if it's a seven, you can tap six or eight, and if it's an ace, you can tap the two or king as aces wrap around. You have sixty seconds to try to eliminate all the stacks, which have treasure hidden under them (which can be tapped on at the end of each game to uncover how much they're worth in silver coins), and if there are no available moves you can flip over a new card up top. Where the game gets really interesting is once the multiple card piles and boosts enter into it. If you tap a card with a key on it, you unlock another card pile up the top, so now essentially a second or third way to clear the stacks reveals itself. Add in time bonuses, score multipliers, and buying new boosts such as magnets that pull cards to the top of the stacks, and you could see how this could become a very engrossing game.

Here's one very glaring problem though; the game can be not only won, but won with a sizable score by just mindlessly tapping cards. You see there is no penalty for selecting a card that doesn't work, so essentially you can just go up and down the stacks tapping away until solutions reveal themselves, only swiping over a new card when you're without a possible move. Now obviously this too can backfire as you only have so many cards in reserve, but if you save the jokers in the deck for this occasion, you can win almost any game with a huge amount of time left of the clock, and with a score that's certainly nothing to sneeze at. Granted if you're playing to hit the top of the leaderboards or are invested in the game itself, you are not going to be doing this, but allowing such an easy way to win is quite an oversight.

Solitaire Blitz is certainly fun. Popcap have a knack for that in their games. The under the sea mermaid aesthetic will probably turn some off, as well as the easy way the game can be played... but there is a fun idea here. One that should keep one entertained for some time, even if it's only to play every now and then when you have a couple minutes to kill.

Description

Discover a whole new world of solitaire in this free and fast-paced treasure hunt. Match cards quickly to clear your card decks in 60 seconds as you explore unique Caribbean island quests, collect treasures and compete with friends.

PRAISE FOR SOLITAIRE BLITZ

“The game really is that perfect little break” – Parents Magazine
“An engaging high-score chase disguised as a classic game of cards” – Mac|Life
“A perfect game to play against your friends” – Ubergizmo

In this nautical solitaire adventure full of treasure hunting and intrigue, you'll uncover rare trinkets and mysterious baubles as you travel to exotic locales and participate in an expansive story full of fun undersea characters. Match cards fast and score big to unlock achievements and top the leaderboard, and then share the wealth with friends. You've never played solitaire like this – it's a fast, fun, social experience!

DIVE INTO THESE FANTASTIC FEATURES

HIGH SPEED MEETS HIGH STAKES
Play alone or with friends in a fast-paced version of the classic card game. Use an assortment of inspired decks of cards and score big bonuses for long winning streaks!

PROGRESS THROUGH CREATIVE QUESTS ACROSS A NAUTICAL MAP
Set sail through more than 125 unique solitaire quests that take you to more than 45 lush and lovely Caribbean island levels, including spots like Trinidad, Tobago and St. Martin.

AMAZING ACHIEVEMENTS AND BOOSTS
Supercharge your game with a variety of Boosts to send your scores soaring. Meanwhile, unlock a boatload of in-game achievements including awards for accuracy, win streaks, and high scores.

FUN WITH FISHY FRIENDS
Get to know Pearl the mermaid, Otis the worm, Sophie the catfish, Cuddles the blowfish and more delightful characters as they guide you on your adventures – and help them try to stop a mysterious villain known only as The Claw.

A TROVE OF TREASURES
Collect hundreds of unique treasures throughout your undersea adventures to earn Silver and purchase Boosts that enhance your game.

NOTES:
Game is not optimized for iPod touch (4th generation) and performs best on iOS 7.1 and above.

Important Consumer Information: This App: Contains advertisements for EA and its partners; collects data through third party analytics technology (see Privacy & Cookie Policy for details); EA may retire online features and services after 30 days’ notice posted on www.ea.com/1/service-updates; contains direct links to social networking sites intended for an audience over 13; contains direct links to the Internet.

This app offers in-app purchases. You may disable in-app purchasing using your device settings. See http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4213 for more info.